Big Bad Baptista | Epic Brewing Company

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

Explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

Reviews by zachary80:

After double baptist (different night) this was a huge let down. Was expecting something along the lines of a Bomb! but it was inferior in every way but superficialities. Pepper is weak and vegetal, coffee stale. Worse than the base beer.

More User Reviews:

A: Jet black with a creamy tan head and very sticky lacing.
N: Cinnamon, coffee, chocolate and whiskey.
T: Follows the nose, nice coffee hit with that signature cinnamon feel, soft chocolate, and barrel thru this one. The ABV is a little heavy and edging out the other flavors some.
M: Medium/Full
O: This was a tasty beer but I felt the ABV bite sort of overtook the other flavors. This was for the 2017 batch.

Pitch black with low carbonation, you get a near perfect head if you're rough with it
Smell is dense of coffee, vanilla, and cinnamon with a malty sweetness detectable
Taste is like the manliest cake ever, burnt sugar with cinnamon and vanilla, the 11% alcohol is very detectable, but it blends well with the other strong flavors. tastes extremely dense but it awesomely drinkable regardless
Overall this lived up to its price though I couldn't imagine how it would before drinking it

A- Pours a fully opaque black color with a 1/4 inch medium brown head that retains decently before becoming a paper-thin ring around the edge of the glass and nearly no surface foam. Resilient lacing leaves small clots behind.

S- Full-on assault of cinnamon, fudge and mocha. Smells like chocolate milk spiked with Mexican spices and a dash of whiskey.

T- And we're off. Explosion of cinnamon and vanilla and then the roast of the coffee sets in and it's wonderful. Magnificently drinkable for the ABV. The whiskey barrel is there but all the intense flavors leave it in the background as a complementary booze component. Nice charry aftertaste.

M- Silky smooth and viscous with medium-low carbonation and a full body.

O- Man, this is some tasty shit. Enjoyable only in small doses since the flavors are so concentrated, but this is like the ultimate dessert beer. Met my expectations and then some.

Drank from a Teku glass. No bottling date which is unusual for Epic, but I do know its batch #9 from 2017, and brewed in the Utah branch (which I prefer).

Look: Pours near black, with tan head. From vigorous pour, I was able to rectify about an 1 and 1/2" tan head, which dissipated rapidly. Loads of lacing is left on the glass as I drink this brew.

Smell: Chocolate, whiskey notes, cinnamon, vanilla and roasted malts all prevalent on the nose. Really not much else to say. This stout smells fantastic. I am loving the whiskey and chocolate notes. As I really get a nose on it, I can pick out some coffee as well. Really a great smelling beer.

Taste: Roasted malt, chocolate, whiskey, coffee, vanilla and cinnamon, and in that order. That is how I perceive the taste. This is a really great tasting stout. Again, not much else to say other than try it. It tastes pretty fantastic. Alcohol is very well hidden.

Feel: Medium terms of body and somewhat light in weight. Carbonation is low to medium, leaning more towards lower on the spectrum. This is a really easy drinking BA stout. This may be my least favorite part of the stout, but it isn't terrible by any means.

Overall: I have had this since this holidays (in 2017), so I wonder if it has made much of a difference. But with that aside, I am really enjoying this stout. It is simple, well balanced, and perfect slow sipper. I am really liking it, and I fully recommend. As always, I am very grateful to have tried this beer. Cheers!

Aromas are strong with lots of cinnamon, coffee, french vanilla. On the tongue is straight velvet chocolate cinnamon syrup. So rich and delicious, great balance. Mouthfeel is slightly thin but that didnt affect beer.

A: Pitch-black pour with a very tall, very dense dark brown head. Perfect head retention that refuses to fade out. Sparse lacing once it does fade out finally, however.

S: Oh man, what an aroma. Heavy coffee, loaded with chocolate and vanilla. Background of bourbon. Very sweet. Cinnamon spices it up a bit. Would swear I even get some chili pepper but I don't think there are any - must be the cinnamon. Absolutely delicious either way.

T: More of the same. Big boozy bourbon up front with lots of caramel. Super sweet chocolate, vanilla and coffee up front melding to form some amazing flavors. Cinnamon kicks in in the middle with some nice spice flavor and a touch of heat heading into the finish. Heat and sweetness fades, leaving a little acrid coffee, a little bittersweet chocolate and a touch of char.

M: Big and sweet.

O: Amazing brew. Great combination of bitterness, sweetness and even a little heat. Great balance with big, bold and complex flavors. No complaints, one of the best stouts I've had this year.

Look: Poured from a 22oz bottle. Nearly 1 finger head that is a darker khaki color. Head dissipates quickly but a nice foam ring and lacing continue throughout the drinking experience (surprised as most barrel aged beers fizzle out completely after a few minutes). Black as black can be. No light gets through. Very nice looking beer.

Smell: Caramel, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and some wood comes through along with a bit of booze. Smells like a chocolate dessert. There's prune and fig in there as well. Not a powerful aroma from this one but decent - and very pleasing.

Taste: At first there is an explosion of flavor and it is hard to tell exactly what hits you first as there are many flavors rushing to the palate. Some bitterness upfront - may be hops - may be the huge amounts of extensively roasted grains. Huge blast of chocolate and malt sweetness kicking in next. Some sweet molasses and brown sugar swirl in as well. Not much coffee came through to me until towards the end. It seems to dry out - get a bit sweet again - and then dry out for good. You do get some charred oak from the barrel aging and a decent amount of whiskey. Just a small amount of spice - the cinnamon is faint. Trails off with some coffee and smokiness.

Feel: Extremely thick / full bodied beer. It stays carbonated throughout so I never got a flat feeling like many other barrel beers I have had. I was left with more of a slick/oily feel in my mouth that I wasn't as pleased with.

Overall: Wow, this is a great beer. One of the best I have had this year for sure. Big Bad Baptist kicked up a notch with some spice. $15 for a 22oz. here in Colorado. Well worth it. I have spent $20 on 12oz beers that I didn't enjoy half as much as this one. I highly recommend.

$ 14.00 (Including tax)/22 oz capped bottle ($ 0.636/oz) at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA.
Release #8, otherwise undated. Stored in a 42 degree reefer and served at 57 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.25.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.2 cm, aggressive pour), light brown, medium density with rocks, good retention, diminishing to a four mm ring and a complete layer with a few small rocks.
Lacing – Excellent. Complete rings of tiny to small bubbles.
Pour – Brown, clear.
Aroma – 4.25 - Coffee, chocolate, chili pepper.
Flavor – 4 - Begins with chocolate, coffee, and chili peppers. No barrel, no oak, no whiskey, no vanilla. A bit of cinnamon comes through at the end. Ends a bit tart – perhaps the tannin from the barrels? No malt, no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate – 4.25 - Medium, creamy, lively carbonation.
Impression and summation: 4 - I’ll swear there are chili peppers in here, based on the taste and aroma, not the heat. Other than the coffee and chocolate, the flavor is pretty much about what isn’t there. Despite the expectations based on the label, this is still a decent Impy stout.

Pours into a snifter jet black jet black with a creamy deep beige head atop,no light getting thru this one.Aromas of deep chocolate fudge and cinnamon bark,very decadent.Heavy roast,vanilla,and cinnamon really come together on the palate with fudge-like chocolate getting bigger as I drink more,sweet alcohol also comes into play as I drink more.The cinnamon is more predominant here than many of the same ilk,it's rich and a nice warming finish to a long day.